The next morning, at dawn, Raven and Sirius stumbled wearily down to their quarters and collapsed in their hammocks. That was everyone else's signal to get up and get to work. Of the group, only Norrington seemed fully conscious. After a stout breakfast of salted pork and leftover stew, the crew scrambled on deck and set to work navigating. They had a surprise waiting for them when they got on deck.

"AMAYA!" Shaedan, Aki, and Inwë all yelled happily when they spotted Shaedan's sister leaning casually against the deck rail. She glanced up when she saw them and grinned.

"I couldn't sit by and let you have all the fun, now could I?" Amaya asked after she escaped from the combined tackles of the trio, "And I brought Sakura with me." Aki's face lit up as her own sister popped out from behind the mast. There was renewed tackling until Norrington strode over, frowning.

"We are not running a vacation cruise here, nor a passenger barge! If you want to eat you have to work, so get to it!" he snapped. Inwë looked startled to be addressed in such a way, but at Norrington's slight shake of the head she refrained from questioning him at the moment. She lingered while the other scrambled to their stations and waited for the Commodore's explanation.

"Elf, it's a bad business all around. I spotted a sail on the horizon an hour ago." The authoress glanced apprehensively over her shoulder, but could see nothing.

"What ship was it? Or do you know?" she inquired nervously. His expression darkened.

"I suspect it is the Flying Dutchman." Fear gripped the Elf's heart and she shivered. If there was one death she feared above all others, it was death by drowning or death by octopus. With Davy Jones on their trail they faced both. Inwë absently rubbed her forehead and began pacing.

"This is bad."

"Yes."

"Beckett controls Jones."

"Yes."

"That's your fault, if I remember rightly."

"Yes – I mean no!" The authoress gave Norrington a quizzical look and he blushed slightly.

"Maybe giving Beckett Jones' heart was a mistake," he said with an apologetic smile. Rolling her eyes heavenward, Inwë began to bang her head against the mast. After about two minutes, she stopped and glared sharply at the Commodore.

"Jones doesn't know where the heart is, does he?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Oh good. MATES!" Inwë roared, "I have a plan!" Her friends appeared from various places and eyed her curiously.

"And what's the benefit for us?" Shaedan demanded. Inwë began to stroll up and down the line of her friends.

"Namely? Your lives will be spared. Jones is hot on our trail and the only thing that would keep him from killing us was if we revealed to him the location of his heart." Angry murmurs broke out amongst the crew.

"That's like betraying Jack! If Jones gets his heart back we'll never see the Captain again!" Aki protested loudly. Inwë acknowledged her words with a nod.

"Aye, if Jones gets his heart back he will indeed be more dangerous than before. However, he doesn't know if Beckie has the heart on his person or if he left it in Port Royal. Savvy?" Her answer was a smattering of grumbles.

"I'm having a thought: I'll scurry over to the Dutchman, negotiate for the release of ourselves and the ship, and send Jones on his merry way back to civilization."

"We should stand and fight," argued Aki, "People are easy to search when they're dead!"

"Why fight when you can negotiate?" Sakura countered. A quote war ensued, which the authoress has decided to leave out. Eventually it was settled that they would run up a flag of truce and Inwë would scurry over and negotiate, as she had vowed to do if they got into trouble. The Elf was in no way looking forward to boarding the Flying Dutchman. Even if she saw Bootstrap, it would probably be when she was locked in the cell next to him. Jones was not known for tolerating authoresses, or for striking bargains with one. So, with heavy hearts and tired minds, the crew finished the day's work and settled down for a meal of potatoes, beef stew, and cornbread. Inwë made a point of sipping introspectively on a mug of grog.

The next morning, at dawn, the Dutchman was almost upon them.

A/N: Sorry it's so short; the next one shall be longer. Any Final Fantasy VII or Fruits Basket fans out there? Well, you're in for something of a treat. Sort of.